What clients say about Thermal City Gold & Gem Mine in Union Mills (NC)
I'm sure it's nice but I don't like to leave bad reviews...seems unnecessary but people to travel in the off season so you should update your Google hours
My three kids (ages 11, 9, and 8) all had a blast! We got the small buckets and the each got tons of beautiful, good sized gems. It was a fun activity, especially for the price! We will be back!
Another fine camping trip once again with friends and family in the hills and creek side in North Carolina. Making the 6 hr trip from TN is not a tough choice.
We rented a cabin which was super cute and clean. We also got a tractor bucket of dirt to go through the high banker which was totally worth it. Hope to visit again.
It's all shaded there's a nice big fan. Not crowded. Prices are reasonable they have $5 $15.25.40.60 and $90 buckets a treasure chest for 175 fossils for 30
Super fun morning at Thermal City Gold Mine! My family of 13 had the best time sorting through our buckets to find so many beautiful stones. Our informative ‘gem-expert’ was able to help all of us identify what stones were what. Some of our party decided one bucket wasn’t enough and bought a second one!! Location easy to find off the highway and an easy drive for us while we stayed in Black Mountain. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in an hour or two of gem discovery.
My wife, my son and I made a trip to thermal city gold mine and we could not have been more pleased. We stopped at another establishment right down the road first and was not treated very well at all. Not only was the staff very friendly and helpful but we found a good bit of gold in the one front end loader scoop that we ran through the high banker. Overall, it was a really good experience and we are already planning our next outing there with some friends. Definitely good gold here!!
THE BEST PLACE FOR GEM MINING!
We have pasted this place numerous times visiting the North Carolina areas for vacations, however, we made a stop at Thermal City and will never gem mine anywhere else again. Mr. Larry is by far the most knowledgeable person we have met when we have gone gem mining. We have gone all over Foscoe, Sugar Mountain, Boone, and Banner Elk for gem mining, but this is a MUST stop for the price and the gems! Get the $40 dollar bucket and you will NOT be disappointed. We will be back on our next drive up! Worth the distance for sure. Then you have Rutherfordton not too far away for other fun activities.
Genuine, sweet people, kids have a blast, as do the adults. Love the tent camp sites to the little rustic cabins. Perfect for a weekend getaway or a picnic day along the river while watching the gold miners process dirt. Kids love gem mining and playing in the river. They beg to go back!
Just spent 4 days with my family at Thermal city and had a blast. The kids loved the river and learning to prospect for gold, but couldn't resist their love for gem mining. Everyone was extremely nice and respectful. We will be planning a trip back soon.
The kiddo absolutely LOVED the gem buckets! They are very fairly priced starting at $15. Super friendly and helpful staff as well. Next time we will try the gold panning.
This is not a tourist trap, this is the real deal. Up front they have their little gem shop and you can get buckets of dirt with gems. In the back is where it’s at. They have a shop with sluices and pans and all kinds of equipment for your small operation. The lady in the office is nice and explanative. We paid just $10/each and stayed for HOURS panning for gold. They will bring dirt up for you to pan your hearts out at their tables with their pans, or buy your own pan and go to the river. The river itself is beautiful and is worth pulling up a chair and just hanging out with your feet in the water. You can spend the day here for $10. Yes there is small gold but it takes patience especially if you’re doing it in a little pan. It was a great experience and we will definitely be back.
Absolutely amazing! The staff here were wonderful, and so helpful! For a family of 4, we spent $35 and stayed for 3 hours. Super inexpensive. I’d definitely come back!
We had such a great, relaxing weekend. Really enjoyed learning about gold mining.
Our cabin was perfect and clean.
Looking forward to coming back again
Went with some family friends and our kids while we were at Chimney Rock over Spring Break. We pulled in and I thought…. Hmm, I’m not so sure about this… but everyone was friendly and knowledgeable. You can’t beat the gem bucket prices (believe me, I looked!), especially if you are traveling with a large group! I highly recommend this local establishment, my kids had so much fun we went back a second day! (Pictures are from the $15 bucket and they found a HUGE bag of very cool gems and rocks)
We rented a cabin near here over spring break with some friends and gem mining was my favorite part of visiting NC as a kid in the late 80’s/early 90’s. My kids were skeptical about it (as teenagers tend to be), but it ended up being the highlight of our trip! Super affordable prices, lovely staff who were helpful and welcoming. I would absolutely go here again if I’m ever in the area
We had so much fun here! Rich was amazing. He helped us and checked on us all weekend. We stayed in a cabin that was clean and so close to everything. And we found gold!
Shady along the river. Clean. Nice showers and pretty spots. Husband loved the trummel machine. The staff were very helpful and friendly. Hope to go back some day.
You may think you’re lost on the way in but fear not, this campsite gem and gold mine is beautifully set back in a secluded area and is very homey. We loved how genuine it was and the staff was wonderful. Prices were very very reasonable. We got 2 $25 buckets to mine gems with and got a lot of really pretty ones. Would love to go back and camp out here sometime!
Third time here, used a camping cabin. Hosted several rock clubs for a field trip. The staff and "regulars" and of course the experience set this place apart. Mellow, low tech place to learn
I'm now pretty good at gold panning! Found a decorative rock at the cabin, with my town on it. America at its best, make a new friend here.
Had a great time there. Camped for two nights and did a little gold panning both from the pay dirt and in the creek. Lots of nice quartz around too, and other cool stones to rock hound. No gold for me but fun was had. Great friendly staff. Would have stayed another night but my handicapped husband's scooter blew a tire and he would have been stuck just sitting at the campsite all day. Will go back, maybe when the weather is a little cooler.
One of the best places we’ve ever gem mined! Very affordable prices for mining buckets. Converted mining area so you can mine rain or shine. Great pricing for gold panning as well. Friendly staff!!!!
I like this place and the staff are great but they don't allow refunds on camping even if you use cash even if you get rained out and if your looking to pan or dredge the creek lucky strike has way better prices on camping and dredging. I am on coming back to buy the big yard of pay day dirt and maybe the panning at the tables thats it sorry for the bad review but I'm sure the only reason they don't do refunds is cause lucky strike is cheaper and the creek is richer at lucky strike i had to pay to pan the creek before I dredged
This place is great. We went on Labor Day weekend and it was so much fun. After learning to pan, we were able to find gold almost every time we got a scoop. I highly recommend this place for a day trip. You can also camp here. There were many people with campers staying for the weekend. The river was great for cooling off and photos. Friendly people, clean bathrooms, good prices, and GOLD made for a wonderful day of family fun!
Wonderful Weekend! Great choice for a Boy Scout adventure. Very friendly and welcoming staff. We all learned lots! Thank you! Also this has become a favorite great stopover campsite for motorcycle touring. You folks are so hospitable! Can I get a "Thumbs Up"?
Absolutely the best place on the planet!! Spent 7 days here and wished I could have stayed longer. The people that work there and the owners are ABSOLUTELY wonderful and were extremely helpful. Jeff, the owner was a pleasure to learn from. All in all, if you want to feel like you are at home, this bunch will, without a doubt, make it feel like home. Beautiful place and lots of river to dig for gold in. I have been many places for vacation in N.C. and this place topped the cake. I am definitely going back again but for 2 weeks next time. I surely didn't want to leave, you will never find another 'Gem' vacation spot or day visit like this one!! Make sure you use the panning station because there's gold there too. The trommels are well worth utilizing. I saw a clean up from a friend I met while down there and wow was I impressed with the amount of gold that came from 1 yard of paydirt. As others have said, you won't get rich here....and I say...true but what if you find that streak of gold in the river others have missed?! don't pass this place up, there's alot to do here and a whole lot of great people. There are alot of people that come here almost daily panning for gold, digging for gold, well worth it. Thank you to all the people there that made my week long stay so awesome!!
